Patent Literature 1 discloses a glass plate separating apparatus 100 as shown in FIG. 17, which is one example of an apparatus for separating a glass plate from a glass ribbon obtained by a down-draw technique. The glass plate separating apparatus 100 includes a scoring device 120 and an engaging device 130. The scoring device 120 forms a scoring line on a first main surface of a glass ribbon 110 over the entire width of the first main surface, and the engaging device 130 applies a bending moment to the glass ribbon 110 while sucking a second main surface of the glass ribbon 110. As a result, the scoring line opens up and extends through the glass ribbon, and thereby a glass plate 111 is separated from the glass ribbon 110.
The scoring device 120 is, for example, a mechanical cutter such as a diamond cutter or cemented carbide wheel. According to Patent Literature 1, a laser system can also be used as the scoring device 120. For example, Patent Literature 2 discloses a glass plate separating apparatus for forming a scoring line on a glass ribbon by running a light emitting element that emits laser light.